24. What should a corporate private-travel policy contain?

Define who can request private travel, who can approve it, what evidence is required and who handles exceptions. NBAA recommends written aircraft-use rules covering authorisation, business objectives and matters such as which executives may travel together. (nbaa.org)

A procurement-focused policy should address:

• Eligibility: approved business purposes and treatment of personal or mixed-purpose travel.
• Authority: approvers, financial thresholds and urgent-booking exceptions.
• Alternatives: when a commercial comparison is required.
• Supplier diligence: evidence requirements and refresh intervals.
• Mission approval: passenger, baggage, airport and timing assumptions.
• Contract review: triggers for legal, insurance or tax escalation.
• Funding: deposit limits, bank-detail verification and renewal approval.
• Continuity: executive co-travel rules and disruption decision-making.
• Privacy: access, retention and permitted sharing of itinerary information.
• Review: post-trip reconciliation and supplier-performance reporting.

Separate the buyer’s budget authority from the operator’s operational decisions. The policy should not encourage an executive or organiser to override a safety decision to protect a meeting time.

For smaller organisations, start with a short policy and a mandatory approval form rather than a long document that nobody uses. Test it against an urgent booking, a holiday trip and a large deposit before adoption.